meterman

Time to go down the XTC YouTube rabbit hole, thank you 👍

Did XTC ever do a live album? Anything from “Drums & Wires” to “English Settlement” would have made a great live album. I had a tape of a live gig from “Black Sea” tour (looong time ago now) that was so good.

Thank you, that’s going in the set 😂

Felt pick, or side of thumb > La Bella flats (or Hofner flats) > 1960s Fender jack lead > cheap little 10w Kustom practice amp > tinnitus > ears I realise I’m on my own with this setup obviously. 😂

“It’s Alive” by The Ramones. Wore it out on vinyl when I was 12-13. Brilliant album. I’d love to do a cover of the whole album with my band, The Ramens, and call it “It’s Arrive”. It would be a daft way to have a laugh at my Chinese-Malaysian heritage but although I defo love doing daft stuff any old time, I reckon by the time lockdown is over and we can book our gig at the Rainbow, I probably won’t be ahrrrsed any more. Besides, nobody would be interested in a Ramones tribute band doing takeaway food themed covers I don’t think... 🤔

sounds like my kind of thing!

I follow him on Instagram, he’s been posting amazing videos up for quite some time now. Definitely would love to play in a band with him 100%. Not on bass, but maybe on Tupperware harmonica, or electric paper bag, or tuned cupboard handles or something. I reckon the gigs would be superb!

I bought a couple of Vicky Leandros albums in a junk shop in Berlin a couple of years ago. I’ve never played any of them, obviously, in case I like them and then have to buy all her records. The sleeve is one of those old school laminated affairs which is great because it stops the ink from rubbing off on my face. That jumper though. If I could get my bass refinished in them stripes I would do it

Would love one of these, I played a couple in GAK before the first lockdown, and I thought they felt and sounded superb. I’m not jealous, honest 😂 A mate had a beautiful original ‘66 in Daphne blue that had faded to a sort of duck egg green that was the best Mustang bass I’ve ever played, but the JMJ’s are as close to that as I’ve ever found. Would definitely own one if funds permitted.

Has anyone else played a gig, and when you come offstage the sound guy or DJ starts playing music that seems 10x louder than your set was? Like, crazily loud? Is it the venues way of getting artists out of building ASAP? Often wondered about this when playing club gigs.

I’m skint so maybe not! But, my bands new record just came out and the label sent me some promos... 🤔 Hmmm, maybe I should stick a few copies on Discogs and see what happens.... You never know, a bit of spare cash, an itchy trigger finger, phwoar, they’re only based in the EU so delivery to France should be easy enough etc... nooooooo! It’s happening again 😂

Just idly interested, you understand. Definitely not buying, etc. Just looking. Finger isn’t hovering over the ‘add to basket’ button or anything like that, no. But, has anyone got one of the J&D mini jazz basses? They do look a bit tasty. Hmmm 🤔

Spot on. It’s hard to describe it to folks who haven’t lived in amongst it just how crazy it is for the two and a half days it’s on. Our last carnival was in 2018 and we’d moved up to Notting Hill Gate by then so the sound systems were just a distant rumble. But the whistles were as loud as ever. I can still hear them now, from France. Or maybe it’s just tinnitus 😂

I remember Acid Mothers Temple being painfully loud, at Tmesis in Manchester, early 2000’s. They were also hopelessly rubbish which didn’t help. I went outside after 20 minutes and could still hear them above the traffic noise. I’d rammed my earplugs so far down my ears, one of them had got stuck and my mate had to try and get it out by using a house key, then a biro pen top, etc. Folks in the street thought we were a performance art duo and we drew quite a crowd, until eventually a very kind passing lady offered us a pair of tweezers from her bag which did the job 👍 Can attest to Notting Hill Carnival being crazy loud too. I used to live in a road in the middle of it, with a sound system about 20 metres away and another on the corner where our road joined Kensington Park road. The bass from both was oppressive even indoors with the windows closed 😂 Have played live at Carnival too, and it’s not much easier onstage either. But above all else, it’s the whistles that get you. Thousands and thousands of whistles. Tinnitus for dayssss...

“Homework” is one of my favourite albums of all time, I’ve worn copies out on multiple formats. Was never as keen on anything they did after that but what an album.

Van Morrison - yep, walked out after about 25-30 minutes, he wasn’t even phoning it in. Waste of money and time. Bob Dylan - almost walked out after 25 minutes of him just fannying about really... like, playing reggae versions of “Mr Tambourine Man” in 3/4 time and stuff like that. There was grown men, proper Dylan heads, around me crying into their beer and stuff, it was painful. Then it was like somebody flicked a switch and he suddenly tore into about 70 minutes of “Maggie’s Farm”, “Positively 4th Street”, loads off “Blonde On Blonde” and “Highway 61 Revisted”, “Bringing It All Back Home” etc... gig saved 😂

I just look in the mirror. No need to add music.

A couple come to mind. The Fall, mid 80s, somewhere in Newcastle. Absolute shambles, just a mess. And I loved the records, but they were not on form that night. Didn’t make it to the end of the gig and never saw them again. Psychic TV, somewhere in London, can’t remember the year but I was young enough not to know better. Very, very ‘off’ vibes in the audience, the atmosphere was really tense. And musically PTV were utter shee ight. I’d gotten dragged along by a super-fan girlfriend but even she gave up early and we left after about 20 minutes. Never saw them again. The Cranberries, early 90s at one of the Fleadh festivals at Finsbury Park, London. They were big enough at the time to have played the main stage but Dolores O’Riordan had broken her leg, so they did a sit-down acoustic set in one of the smaller tents. I wouldn’t have gone in to see them by choice but it was pishing it down, so... Anyway after maybe 3 or 4 songs it became clear that all their songs were gonna be a 4-chord plod with a bit of yodelling during each 4th chord, and it got really wearing, really quickly. I bailed after maybe 12-15 minutes and went back out into the rain to get away from it. Never saw them again. There’s probably a load more but those stand out just now.

Very handsome 👍

That is a beauty 👍

Badfinger were great. “Straight Up” is such a good album, with production work from George Harrison and Todd Rundgren. Just really well written songs, performed without too much 70s excess getting in the way. “No Dice” has some cracking tunes on it as well. Shame that their management and label bosses let them down. Read a biography of them a few years back and it was so grim I was down for days afterwards. But I listened to them again more recently and the Apple albums are great.

That Blazer is a beauty! I’m guessing that most people that own them hang onto them? I don’t see them for sale so often. Natural finish tho... 🤤 so nice!

Bread Milk Eggs Veggies Chicken Breakfast cereal Bog rolls Lego JMJ Mustang (any colour) Peanut butter (crunchy) Vesta Chow Mein Top Deck lager n lime shandy x48 Pepto Bismol maybe some felt picks can’t think of owt else, best ask my wife, she does lists better than me...

I’d like to say never, this bass has got me playing more than I have in many years, it’s a short scale lightweight delight. Luckily my playing rarely calls for sustain, or correct intonation on the E string, so this one might be with me forever 👍